Jul 28 College Leftists Are Enemies Of Free Speech

Lately there has been an assault on free speech, coming from the left, on college campuses across America. I think everyone has heard about the numerous issues right wing speakers have faced, for attempting to simply express their ideas. College campuses are supposed to be a haven for all view points, and a place where ideas can be expressed openly. They are certainly not, at this particular moment. Ben Shapiro, Editor-in-Chief of Daily Wire, who is an outspoken voice for conservatism, has encountered this garbage on several occasions. UC Berkeley recently denied him an opportunity to speak on their campus, citing security reasons as the main cause. Ann Coulter, a Fox News contributor and conservative author, was initially denied her opportunity to speak on the same campus, because the school claimed it could not ensure her safety. Liberal speakers, by the way, have reportedly had no issues at their speaking events, held on the UC Berkeley campus. You do not hear about mobs of conservative college students flocking to shut down a progressive speaker's event, anywhere in the US. However, this has been a disturbing trend, coming from the left.

The first amendment protects every individual's right to free speech. It explicitly guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or an individual's right to speak freely. The left claims they are champions for free speech, and they will fight for any person's right to it. If you're on the right, however, your view is labeled as "hate speech," and you are kicked to the curb. So much for opposing views, new ideas, and dissenting opinions. It seems the philosophy of the day is leftism, and they have decided free speech protection only belongs to those who agree with their form of moral rightness. In their view, the left's progressive ideals give them moral superiority, which renders any competing view to be characterized as "hate speech." Hate speech is the club being wielded daily, by the left, against individuals who merely state the truth! Try heading to a college campus to educate students about the single parenthood rate, and how that is the number one indicator of a person's upward mobility. You will most likely be escorted off the property, immediately. That is, if you don't encounter a leftist thug, who believes they have the right to resort to violence against you. This is the garbage that goes on at our institutions for higher learning. The suppression of the open exchange of competing ideas.

It's no wonder this country continues to grow more progressive seemingly with each passing year. The left claims the divide between enlightened progressives and conservative rubes is education. In their eyes, since more college educated citizens tend to be liberal, this must be because they are smarter. They have an enhanced ability to discern right from wrong, and most often choose progressivism as right. Conservatives are just narrow-minded, uneducated hicks. Hm... If the overwhelming political view being pushed on college campuses is one-sided, don't you think it's logical to conclude that this would weigh heavily on young, impressionable minds? Talk to progressive-minded college students, and they will tell you they can openly express their views, and are even cheered by their fellow students and professors. Ask a conservative student how their experience has gone, and you will hear about their decision to keep quiet about their views, the hatred and harassment they face, if they do speak out, and the disgusting reality of their having to choose between staying true to their beliefs or achieving their academic goals. Yet, there are still plenty of students on the left, who claim they are being oppressed somehow, despite overwhelming evidence of the contrary. These are the students advocating for, or downright demanding, "safe spaces."

The idea behind a "safe space" is that certain students, who are part of a protected social group, need to have a safe space to actually guarantee their safety. I guess the only thing safe spaces fail to protect is speech. These spaces would apparently shield certain students from anyone who disagrees with them in any way, and even go as far as segregating groups from each other. That's right, there are groups openly demanding to have areas open to students of color, while specifically prohibiting white students. The idea being that the mere presence of the white students is threatening to certain individuals. There are American college campuses, who have student unions fighting to remove the American flag from their property, on the basis that the flag represents a threat or hate speech. What? Can we all just take one step back, and evaluate? Why not provide a "place" for all ideas to be discussed and displayed, without the fear of violence? School administrators need to stand up for every person's right to free speech, even if they disagree with them. They should be doing everything in their power to protect the values our country hold dear, and not merely encouraging one particular opinion. Professors on the right and left need to encourage all ideas, and discourage those who seek to suppress the views of others. Tear down the truly divisive ideas of "safe spaces," and encourage peaceful and respectful integration.

Keeping outside thugs out of the mix should be a priority, as well. Allowing groups like Antifa to threaten and harm students or speakers is unconscionable, and is another layer of free speech suppression. These groups are very prone to violence, and have made it their stated mission to shut down any event, as they see fit. They decide who is "fascist," "racist," or "hateful," and then deploy their thugs to confront them, often armed, with the sole purpose of stopping them, by any means necessary. These groups are engaging in criminal activity, and should be taken off the streets.

As long as this issue continues to fester, and college administrators and faculty don't change, Americans will continue to see the intolerant left, for who they are. Conservatives will continue to be treated as though their right to free expression doesn't matter. Our institutions for higher learning will continue to become snowflake havens, and ideologically homogenous vacuums, lacking the diversity of ideas that make this country exceptional.